A big, peppery kiss on the mouth: 2011 Result Of A Crush
My most recent gig had me traveling a lot over the past year. So much so that I’m one flight away from “gold status” on my airline of choice, and only half my flights were with them this year. I became quite familiar with many wine bars in various airports all around North America. A few are quite good, but mind you none of them offer bargains. Airports are made up of the ultimate captive audience; corporate wage slaves criss-crossing the country on expense accounts. Expect to pay 2x to 5x what anything is worth once you’re beyond the TSA sexual harassment stations. For example, very early one morning at SFO I grabbed a Coke Zero at a kiosk in the International Terminal as I needed some caffeine to jump start me (I don’t drink coffee… yeah, I know that is hard to grasp but I’ve never developed a taste for the stuff) and when the guy said “$4.50” I replied “$4.50 FOR A 16OZ COKE?” then just turned and walked away, leaving the cola on the counter. Yes, I’m cheap. Loud Rammstein in my earbuds had to suffice for the jumpstart… DU HAST!!
Last spring I had a multi-hour layover at Sea-Tac airport and ended up spending most of it in a wine bar between the B and C concourses. They offered tasting flights and since I was in Washington state, I tried a Washington state red wine flight. I recall that one was a Cabernet Sauvignon, the other was a Sangiovese, and the last of the three was this oddball Syrah. The first thing I remember about it was the nose. Hit me with huge peppery notes. In fact until that moment I had always heard people talk about “peppery notes” but really had not experienced it myself.
This wine delivers pepper like a Daisy Cutter dropped on Tora Bora in 2002.
HERE, HAVE SOME PEPPER! BOOM!!!
Want some more? Take a sip.
BOOM!!!
Speaking as a guy who puts pepper on his bacon, his french fries, his steaks, his broccoli… everything… I was in my wine happy place with this Result of a Crush.
The wine bar at Sea-Tac offers bottles for sale, so I inquired about this wine. Their price? $45. Ten times the cost of sixteen ounces of Coca-Cola at SFO down the coast. The wine bar also offers free wifi, so a quick search on my phone revealed a wine shop online offering the same wine for $19 a bottle. A couple of clicks later, I have three coming to me. I enjoy two more glasses of the wine over the next few hours, and then proceed along to my gate and another forgettable business trip.
Many months later I receive a notice from UPS about an adult signature required package coming my way and I’m confused. I don’t have any wine coming to my knowledge. The UPS lady shows up a day later and sure enough it is the Result of a Crush I ordered back in June. They wine shop had held it for cooler weather, and I had completely forgotten about this purchase. It’s like Christmas in October! I open one bottle after letting it rest in the cellar for a while and it is just as I recall. Big. Peppery. Awesome.
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